December 20, 2021 | Montpelier, VT - The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets’ (VAAFM) Hemp Program received approval from the Agricultural Marketing Service of the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) of the Vermont Domestic Hemp Production plan. The approved plan supports the Vermont Hemp Rules and governs registration, production, and compliance for hemp cultivation beginning in 2022
“The Agency thanks USDA for its support as Vermont developed its production plan in compliance with USDA’s final rule. This will be the first year Vermont will be operating under the 2018 Farm Bill authorization and a new federally approved state plan,” said Stephanie Smith, Vermont’s Hemp Program manager. “The Vermont Hemp Program looks forward to another year working with growers and processors.” For registration year 2021, there were 440 hemp program participants.
Some programmatic changes expected for 2022 include:
- The acceptable hemp tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) level is total delta-9-THC concentration includes 0.3 percent or less, as measured on a dry weight basis. Total delta-9-THC includes the potential conversion of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid into THC.
- Registrants may be able to remediate and retest a harvest lot that exceeds the acceptable hemp THC level by
- Removing flowers and leaves and disposing of them appropriately, and retaining only stalk; or
- Chipping the entire plant into biomass for extraction or other commercial purposes.
- Opportunities for performance-based sampling for fiber, grain, nursery stock, and crops grown for research purposes.
All grower registrants should be aware of and thinking about all programmatic changes required by the 2018 Farm Bill, USDA’s final rule, and as reflected in Vermont Domestic Hemp Production plan, and how it may impact their operations.
For more information on hemp regulation in Vermont, please contact:
- Stephanie Smith, Stephanie.smith@vermont.gov;
- Michael DiTomasso, Michael.DiTomasso@vermont.gov;
- Visit https://agriculture.vermont.gov/public-health-agricultural-resource-management-division/hemp-program .